Something Worth Living For
by DemonAngel606
Summary: Luffy dreams. Of her past, or her future, she doesn't know. But she wants to meet them, those shadowy figures that haunt her dreams. She'll have to be quick though, before time runs out. Fem/strawhats. AU
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Beginning

Midsummer and warm air was wafting lazily in through the open window of a bedroom causing the scarlet curtains to flutter gently in the light breeze. The figure lying in bed though was unaware of the lovely day just outside the window and was snoring away in bed.

The sleeper was Luffy, a pretty 16 year old. Not perhaps the brightest gem in the crown, but smart in her own way. For the past several days though, she had been bedridden by what her family believed to be some sort of summer flu.

For the moment though, Luffy was blissfully unaware and immersed in a dream, one she had had several times before. In this dream Luffy found herself on a ship, a sailing ship. The kind described in fairy tales and old legends. The kind made of wood instead of metal and has no electricity. The ship was large and absolutely stunning, the huge white sails unfurled and billowing with wind. The deck had a grass lawn and even a couple of deck chairs. Luffy always found herself lying on the ships figure head, an enormous lion's head, gazing up at the sky and feeling the waves rock the ship from side to side.

"Captain. It's time for lunch."

Ah, the call. Luffy knows that she's the one being called, that she bears the title of Captain. Yet she has no idea who the speaker is. It isn't always the same speaker, but still, whoever speaks holds a tone of familiarity, as though the speaker knows Luffy well.

Never one to refuse the call of food Luffy jumps off of the figure head and runs to the ship's dining room. The room is spacious and bright with a large oval table as its main feature, currently piled high with food. Separated from the kitchen by a long counter so you could see what was cooking and allowed for conversation with the chef. The counter was yellow, with tall barstools to sit at and enjoy the sight of cooking food. The kitchen itself was utterly off limits to everyone but the chef, Luffy knew, but wasn't sure why, or how she knew. More food was cooking in the kitchen, supervised by someone who Luffy presumed to be the chef, but nothing about their appearance could be made out. It was like trying to look through tinted car windows; all you got was a vague outline, if that. Still, the figure felt familiar, as did the other seven people scattered around the room. Luffy could see no more of them than she could the mysterious chef, yet she felt very comfortable in their presence, as though the nine of them spent a great deal of time together.

Pausing to smile to the room in general, Luffy focussed her attention on the mountain of food, trying to decide what to eat first. She settled on an enormous stack of spare ribs, smothered in barbecue sauce. She ran up to the table, seized the ribs with a cry of "FOOD!", and… woke up with her arms outstretched above her and her stomach growling.

"Oh, I really wanted that meat." She grumbled as she got up and got dressed, still feeling a little dizzy but definitely much better than she had the previous day. Once Luffy was dressed in her favourite red shirt, baggy jeans and a fair of flip flops, she went downstairs to see if she could scrounge breakfast off any of her family.

As luck would have it, Luffy's brother Ace was already in the kitchen, wolfing down a mountain of toast. As soon as he saw her, he quickly swallowed his mouthful of toast and jam and quick as a flash, was standing in front of her, a worried look on his face.

"Do you feel better? Should you be out of bed? Go back and rest." Ace asked, one question after another without stopping to give Luffy time to reply.

"I'm fine, much better than yesterday. I've had enough of lying in bed not allowed to do anything." Luffy replied, slightly annoyed at her brother's habitual over protectiveness.

"If you're sure …" he trailed off, still concerned with how pale his sister looked, despite he assertion that she was much better. "I still think you should go see a doctor, just in case." He decided.

Knowing she wasn't getting out of this one, Luffy agreed, though she tacked on the end "Just to make you happy and stop worrying about me." Ace laughed at that, ruffling her mussed hair. "I'll always worry about you, Luffy. All my life, and probably even after."

"Just so long as you don't haunt me." Luffy laughed, having had similar conversations with her brother before. She would go, after all, she still felt ill, but there was no need to tell him that. It was strange for her, she could not remember any time she had ever been sick. Besides, if she went to the doctor, she got to skip school and spend time with her brother. She wasn't passing up that chance, even if their time together was spent in a doctor's waiting room.

"I'll make you some breakfast then, we'll leave once you've eaten."

* * *

Two hours later saw Ace and Luffy in the car, speeding towards the clinic. The drive was unusually quiet on Ace's part, content to listen to Luffy fill the silence of the car. He was worried. Luffy had never been sick before in her life so he was fearful that her illness was worse than just a simple cold. Despite this, he was happy to see that other then the deathly pallor of her skin, she was much better. That didn't stop him from worrying though. Luffy, on the other hand, was unconcerned. She jabbered on about the anything that came to mind, mostly food, and what she'd do with her friends when they got together again. All the while smiling brightly at being out of the house for the first time in a week. She didn't think she'd ever spent so much time indoors before.

They eventually arrived at the clinic, and spent half an hour in the waiting room as they'd had to make an appointment with the doctor at the front desk. Luffy, had she been feeling completely well would have been bouncing up and down on her seat, but as she was still feeling tired she was contenting herself with wining about how she hated sitting still and that she was hungry again. She wasn't really that hungry, but it didn't matter as there was no way for Ace to get Luffy any food. It would also keep him from worrying too much if she acted like she was feeling better. Ace, for his part, was only half-fooled. He could tell that Luffy was tired from the short journey to the clinic, but was taken in by her whinging about being hungry. It gave him some hope that things were not as bad as he feared.

Eventually, the doctor called Luffy into his clinic for the check-up. His name was Dr. Miller, he was tall, balding and had a very soft voice which tended to be hard to hear. Luffy liked Dr. Miller because she found him funny. He tended to make jokes while examining patients and had an excellent sense of humour.

"Hello, Luffy. " he greeted her upon entry into his office. "I haven't seen you since you came to get a tetanus jab."

Luffy grinned widely and replied "Yep! That's 'cause I haven't been sick since."

"Is that so. So, Luffy, what ailment brings you here now?"

"What's an ailment" Luffy asked. She always had problems understanding the long complicated words he sometimes used.

"I forgot most don't understand technical terms. I meant; what are you sick with?" Dr. Miller clarified.

"Dunno. It's a mystery disease." Luffy's explanation for anything she doesn't know.

"I see. Well, I'll just have to solve this 'mystery disease' of yours."

"I'd appreciate it, Doc." Ace added. "She's had if for a week."

"I see. So, Ace, what have her symptoms been?" the doctor asked, knowing that Luffy's explanation would be confusing at best.

"She's had a high fever, been tired, and completely lost her appetite. The past few days I've had trouble waking her up long enough to give her water. She couldn't keep anything else down. Her fever must have broken sometime last night, she was better this morning and managed to keep some cereal down. Still, she didn't eat nearly as much as she usually would."

"That so. Sounds like you had a rough time of it this past week." Dr. Miller says sympathetically. Already knowing how protective Ace was of his sister. "From what you said it sounds like a bad case of the flu. But knowing Luffy's iron-like stomach and penchant for warding off any kind of illness you want to be safe rather than sorry." The man surmised.

"Yes." Ace agreed.

"Well then, Miss Luffy, if you would come with me we can take some tests and make sure what you had is out of your system."

"Sure." Luffy replied, following the doctor into a side room with equipment and leaving her brother to wait in the waiting room.

In the clinic, Dr. Miller ran tests on Luffy. He took her temperature, pulse, blood pressure and reaction time. All the while he muttered to himself about what he found. He spoke so quietly that Luffy couldn't make out much, and what she did make out she didn't understand. He ended by taking a blood and saliva sample then sending Luffy back to her brother with instructions to come back in three days for the results of the tests.

"As far as I can tell, there's nothing seriously wrong with her anymore except from exhaustion. And that could just be an after-affect of her illness. We'll have to wait for the test results before conclusions can be drawn, though." Dr. Miller explained to Ace. "In the meantime, I would suggest some more rest to get over the fatigue and to eat as much as possible."

"Thank you, Doctor" Ace thanked the Doctor and took Lune home, reassured some but still worried about the possible results of the blood tests.

* * *

Three days later and Luffy was almost completely recovered from her illness. She was no longer tired and her appetite was completely back to normal. She did however; find that she became quite dizzy if she moved too fast. Ace had noticed, and worried silently. He knew better than to bring it up to her, she would vehemently deny it if he did. But he watched her carefully. He just hoped it wasn't serious.

Back at the clinic, Dr. Miller wore a frown when he noticed them waiting which immediately alerted both Ace and Luffy that something was wrong. Ace was filled with dread as he waited for his sister to be called.

When Dr. Miller finally called Luffy and Ace into his office they went in with trepidation. He gestured for Ace and Luffy to sit down before speaking.

"I am referring Luffy to a specialist in hospital." he began.

"Why?" Ace interrupted before Miller could continue.

"There was something foreign in the blood sample. It might not be anything serious but I'd like for Luffy to be examined by a specialist in the field."

"Luffy?" Ace asked, seeking her opinion on the subject.

Luffy though about what the doctor had said. It had sounded as though he thought that there was something very wrong with her. Much as she hated it, she had a feeling he was right. She hated hospitals; they smelt of chemicals and decay however much the walls were scrubbed. But if she went, it would stop her brother from worrying and maybe the dizzy spells would go away. In the end she asked:

"How long would I have to stay?"

"It wouldn't be very long, Luffy." Miller hurried to reassure her. "A few days until they found out what was wrong. Then you could leave."

There was a pause as Luffy thought through this information. At last she agreed to see the specialist. "But only until you figure out the mystery disease" she stipulated.

"Of course, Luffy. As soon as Dr. Trafalgar finds out what's wrong you can leave hospital." Dr. Miller was quick to reassure the girl.

"Dr. Trafalgar?" Ace asked.

"Yes." Dr. Miller answered. "An expert in the field of blood disease. I'm sure he'll be able to find out what's wrong."

"Okay. When's the appointment?"

"I'll call you when I make one. He's a busy man but this might interest him enough for him to make some time for it within the next couple of weeks."

"Fine, do that." Ace agreed.

"In the mean time Luffy, no strenuous activity. That means no school, no sneaking off, and no fighting." the doctor stipulated.

"What!" Luffy cried. "What'll I do? I'll go bored with nothing to do."

"That's too bad, you'll just have to cope somehow."

"No fair!" she continued to complain.

"Life isn't fair." commented Dr. Miller. "Everyone has to do things they don't like."

"But I already do stuff I don't like. I go to school." Luffy continued objecting vehemently for another five minutes before giving up. Not liking things one bit she mumbled:

"At least I can still eat all the meat I want."

Ace, who heard what she said, paled drastically. Luffy was going to be a horror to live with until this thing was over. He was going to have to constantly supervise her to make sure she didn't try anything stupid out of boredom.

Luffy, for her part, was horrified at the boredom she would have to go through until this appointment with the special doctor. By the end of it, she'd probably be looking forward to going to the stupid hospital.

The next day, Dr. Miller phoned Ace and Luffy to inform them that he had managed to schedule an appointment for the following week.

"You're very lucky." he said. "Dr. Trafalgar found Luffy's condition very interesting. He's rather eccentric, so when he doesn't like something he can put it off for months."

Ace was thankful that he wouldn't have to cope too long with Luffy bored out of her mind. But he was also worried that the quick response and that the appointment was so soon meant that Luffy's condition was potentially quite serious. Luffy, though, was just glad that she didn't have to wait months when she heard. One week was long enough.

The time leading up to the hospital stay saw Luffy sleeping and eating a lot. They were the only things she could do, so in between she complained constantly about how bored she was. Her sleep was plagued by the same dream of being Captain on a ship. The figures were becoming clearer the more she had the dream; she could now make out colours and shapes. The dreams were also lasting longer, with more happening in them. In one, they reached dry land and went exploring. Luffy figured that the dreams were of adventures with friends so she enjoyed them a great deal. She still had the feeling that she knew them, though she couldn't remember ever meeting the figures.

* * *

The day of the hospital appointment dawned, and Luffy was down early, she wanted this over with so she could go back to fighting all the delinquents. She was the best of them all, good enough for them to consider her their leader. If felt nice to be better than all the older boys.

Ace pulled up outside the hospital, glancing at Luffy out the corner of his eye. She seemed unconcerned about what would happen. The dizzy spells hadn't gone, and she hadn't been complaining nearly as much as he had expected. That combined left him worried that something really was wrong with his little sister. To add to that, her appetite had drastically increased, he was beginning to worry that she would eat the two of them out of house and home.

The hospital seemed typical of hospitals everywhere: big, clean, and smelling of antiseptic and the slight undertones of decay. Luffy took an instant dislike to it. Ace wasn't too fond of the place either. That you were there at all meant that something was wrong. The walls and ceiling were a brilliant white, it was almost blinding. The reception area was huge but only manned by one young, harassed-looking nurse. Adam approached cautiously, aware of what women could be like under severe stress. He dealt with Luffy on a daily basis, even though his sister was rarely stressed, she was still hard work.

"We're here for an appointment with a Dr. Trafalgar." Ace began, addressing the nurse.

"Name?" she replied, seeming irritated that her momentary peace had been interrupted.

"Monkey."

"Monkey, Monkey …" she muttered, scrolling down on her computer.

"Ah, Yes. Here it is. Monkey D Luffy, appointment at 10.30."

"That's right." Ace replied.

"Room 207. You go down the furthermost corridor to your left, around halfway down the corridor."

"Thank you." Ace politely thanked the nurse, then grabbed Luffy's hand and dragged her towards what he presumed to be the correct door. Her directions weren't the most precise and Luffy's sense of direction was always a little off.

It turned out that Dr. Miller's description of Dr. Trafalgar being eccentric was a bit of an understatement. Luffy's first impression of the man was that she thought he was interesting and really cool. Ace's first impression was that the man was some sort of psychopath. He wore a large spotted hat with a white doctor's coat. Underneath which he wore skinny jeans and a bright yellow hoodie. He had tattoos on his hands that spelled death and resting in the corner was what appeared to be a very large sword. He was dark-skinned and had a very creepy smile on his face. The walls of Dr. Trafalgar's office was also covered with photographs of various illnesses and diagrams of internal organs. All in all, not the most reassuring place to be.

"You look really cool!" was Luffy's first response to seeing the doctor, causing Ace to face palm at her enthusiasm.

"Why, thank you, Miss Luffy." Dr. Trafalgar grinned as he replied. Ace's opinion was that the grin just made him creepier. He was having second thoughts about letting this guy examine his sister.

"So, Dr. Traffy, you're gonna cure my mystery disease. Right?" Luffy went straight to the point, causing Ace to again face palm at Luffy having already given the doctor a nickname.

"My name is Trafalgar." the doctor ground out through clenched teeth; he had obviously not appreciated the new name.

"I know, but it's kinda hard to say." Luffy replied, which just annoyed Dr. Trafalgar even more.

"Anyway," the doctor continued, deciding to ignore Luffy's nickname. "I'm going to run some tests on you so I will need to know how you have felt during the past week."

"Bored." was Luffy's prompt reply.

Dr. Trafalgar grit his teeth in an effort to calm down. "Besides boredom." he attempted to clarify.

There was a pause while Luffy thought. "Really tired," she finally said, "and even more hungry than usual."

The doctor nodded but kept his thoughts to himself. He then gestured for Luffy to follow him into another room. Luffy looked like a kid in a candy store when she saw all of the equipment in the room.

"Stop gawking, I need to run these tests. Don't touch anything either, unless I tell you to." Dr. Trafalgar commanded, seeing Luffy's arm stretch out to poke at something with wires coming out of it.

"But it looks so cool!" the girl exclaimed, causing a very slight smile to appear on the doctors face. It vanished after a moment, and he said:

"Let's get on then, I have other stuff to do today, and I'm sure you do as well." He then proceeded to run a lot of tests on Luffy. It took roughly two hours to get everything done but she was remarkably well behaved considering how long it took.

Finally they were finished, and Luffy was returned to her brother. Dr. Trafalgar held a clipboard, his face unhappy. "She has blood cancer." he announced. Ace stared at the doctor in shock. His little sister with cancer? He couldn't comprehend it. "It has no known cure." Dr. Trafalgar continued, "But I can prescribe a course of treatment that will help to regulate the pain she is going to be in, as well as combat any other symptoms of the disease. Though Luffy's life expectancy will be much lower. I would estimate a maximum of 10 years."

Luffy was shocked. She didn't understand everything the doctor had said, but she had got the gist. She would die by the time she was twenty-seven. But she could grasp that. That was okay. She could still go on tonnes of adventures. She was more worried about how her brother would react and the way he would act around her from now on. Glancing at him out the corner of her eye, she felt justified in her worry. His face was blank with shock, but his eyes showed abject fear. She would be treated as if she were made of glass from now on.

Luffy got the treatment that she would need from Dr. Trafalgar and Ace drove her home, still in that same shocked state. Luffy stayed just long enough to grab a coat and then left. She headed for the beach; it was where she always went when she wanted to get away from things. When she wanted to think. It was a cold day with the hint of rain and she was the only one there. She sat in the sand and watched the sea, thinking about how things were going to change. She would no longer have to go to school. That was good. But she would also no longer be allowed to fight either. There would be very little fun anymore. Even worse, her brother would watch her with fear in his eyes, waiting for the moment when she would become worse. He would become paranoid, but he would try to hide it. Things would never be the same.

Ace found her at this point, having got over his shock and realised that Luffy was gone, guessing that she'd go to the beach nearby. Worried about her, he had come to fetch her back home. She got up slowly, head uncharacteristically lowered, and started for home. Knowing that to say anything would be useless, Ace followed her. Luffy glanced back towards the beach when she reached home; her thoughts were that this was just the beginning, the beginning of the end.

She was right, yet wrong at the same time.


	2. Chapter 2: Friend

Author's note: Thank you for the reviews and favourites I've had so far, I never imagined my story could be popular! This story was originally being written as a school project with the characters based on the One Piece characters, which is why I gave them different names. I decided to return their original names to them when I uploaded this story online. Unfortunately it would appear that I missed a few. Lune and Adam are Luffy and Ace respectively but I have gone and altered chapter 1 so there shouldn't be a problem with character names anymore.

Before I forget, I do not own One Piece (much as I might like to).

* * *

Chapter 2: Friend

Three months had passed since Luffy's diagnosis, it was now the middle of autumn, and the weather was very cold. Luffy had adjusted to life since discovering she was ill. She no longer had to go to school, which she was very grateful for. Instead, her brother taught her when he was free. She also had to take a lot of medication. Apparently, it would slow down the progression of her illness as well as reduce any pain she was in. Luffy felt no pain these days. She was numb most of the time. She was alone for most of the day.

She had been correct about her brother's reaction to her condition. He was more over-protective of her than ever. Ace barely let her do a thing and was constantly giving her worried, fearful looks. It was awful. Luffy thanked whatever deity that existed that he had to work most days and spent very little time at home. Horrible as being alone was, it was better than Ace's nervous, worrying presence.

This particular day Luffy was at the beach. It was again almost deserted. The middle of October was cold, and there was a hint of rain so no one was there for pleasure. There were a few dog-walkers, but they didn't stop to chat, just moved in an attempt to keep warm and get the ordeal over with as quickly as possible. The beach was where Luffy spent most of her time now. It was the only place she felt even a modicum of peace. The weekly visits to Traffy to see how she was doing dragged, though she did enjoy his company: he didn't pity her; in fact he was quite sarcastic and cynical. He made the best company at the moment.

Ace didn't know about her daily excursions to the beach, he'd go nuts if he did. Perhaps forbid her from leaving the house, he couldn't; she was her own person. Besides, so long as she was back before he was he'd never know. Luffy simply tried her best to act her usual self around him, it was better that way. There was distance now between them, where none had been before. It was sad, really, he was the only person besides Traffy she spent much time around anymore.

There wasn't much on the beach, and Luffy was starting to shiver from sitting still so long staring at the water. It was grey today, and the wind was making it rough. It was a beautiful sight, but then she always thought it was, whatever weather. Still, even the beauty of the sea couldn't dispel her loneliness.

"Hey,"

Luffy looked up at the shout, noticing that around halfway down the beach from where she sat, a group of bullies had ganged up on someone. The victim appeared to be putting up a pretty good fight, if the bruises and bloody noses were anything to go by. She sidled closer, trying not to draw attention to herself, aware of what would happen if her brother were to find out. She noticed the victim was female, and had been pinned to the cliff behind her by several of the boys. She was struggling so violently that it took the combined efforts of four of the group to keep her pinned.

Luffy was impressed. She recognised the bullies; their weird dress sense marked them as the strongest group around. The only person they held any respect for was her, since she had beaten them all single handed back when she had just moved in and no one knew she could fight. Technically, they referred to her as their leader, a title she didn't like too much.

Glancing around, Luffy noticed a wooden sword lying on the ground a few feet from the girl pinned to the rock. The girl was eying it with slight desperation. Luffy moved to pick the sword up and realised, glancing up, that one of the boys was waving around in the girl's face. Acting fast, she picked up the sword and threw it at the girl, who caught it. However, the sudden action caused the guy holding the knife to panic. Before either Luffy or the girl had the chance to act, he slashed at the pinned girl, cutting a line through her face. To her credit, Luffy reacted fast to the girl's pained scream, knocking all the boys surrounding her unconscious. The effort left her slightly winded, something that would not have occurred had she been healthy.

Turning to the girl, Luffy saw her kneeling in the sand, one hand grasping her wooden sword, the other clutching her face. There was blood trickling between her fingers. That didn't stop the stranger from glaring at Luffy with mistrust. Luffy just stared back for a moment, and then said:

"Get up."

"Why?" was the reply given.

"You need to see a doctor."

No reply. They stayed there, staring at each other, one standing, impassive, the other kneeling, suspicious. Finally, the girl stood, still covering half her face with her hand. With a half-smile, Luffy started walking, heading in the direction of the hospital.

"What's you name?" Luffy asked after they had got off the beach.

"Zoro."

"Mine's Luffy."

There was another minute of silence, then the newly introduced Zoro asked,

"What were you doing on the beach?"

"Nothing, really. What d'you do to piss those guys off?"

"Dunno." she shrugged. "Who cares?"

They continued to walk in silence until they reached the hospital. Without even pausing at the desk, Luffy headed straight to Dr. Trafalgar's office, knowing that he would be here, but not doing very much. He was never very busy.

Luffy didn't bother knocking before entering the office,

"Hey Traffy!" she cried, the man simply looked up from his desk and scowled.

"I've told you not to call me that." he said, without any bite to his words, knowing they would be disregarded. He was right. "Anyway, why are you here?"

Luffy pointed to Zoro, who was looking sceptical, her face still bleeding. Dr. Trafalgar just sighed and beckoned her forward. "What happened?" he asked, without any real interest.

"Nothing much," was Zoro's reply. "it was just a fight." She removed her hand from her face so Trafalgar could see. He whistled.

"Quite the impressive fight."

"Not really."

"Is that so."

The conversation continued as Trafalgar cleaned the blood from Zoro's face, once that was done, he took an eye patch and placed it over her left eye.

"It'll scar." he informed the girl. "And it's doubtful that you'll ever be able to open that eye again. Maybe you will, maybe you won't, but I wouldn't hold out much hope. Chances are you'll be permanently blind in your left eye."

"I see." was Zoro's only comment.

"Luffy, you should be getting home." Trafalgar continued. "Your brother is likely to be back soon."

Luffy glanced at the clock, he was right. "Just what I need. See you around, Zoro." she shouted as she ran through the door, not stopping until she was home, out of breath and dizzy, but still in time.

* * *

"That was strange." commented Zoro as Luffy raced out the door. "Why was she in such a hurry?"

"Luffy's brother has a severe sister complex." came the reply from Dr. Trafalgar. "He freaks over the tiniest things when it comes to her. Especially since …"

Zoro turned to look at the man with interest, wondering what could have happened. Still, it wasn't her place to ask, nor was it the doctor's to tell. She was aware of that. But that didn't mean she wasn't determined to find out.

The next day found Zoro back on the beach, searching for the mysterious dark-haired girl. About midday, she spotted her, sitting near the rock cliff she had been attacked against the day before. She wasn't doing anything and seemed almost lost. Zoro was intrigued, it was still cold yet the mysterious Luffy wasn't even wearing a coat.

"Aren't you cold?" Zoro asked, moving to stand in front the other girl.

"Not really," Luffy replied. "no more so than usual anyway."

Strange girl, Zoro thought, to not be cold when it's so windy. "By the way, I owe you one for saving me yesterday." It grated on Zoro's nerves to say it, but it was true and the stranger did deserve a thank you.

"No problem." Luffy looked up at Zoro, giving a blinding smile. "Say, is your hair naturally that colour? Or is it dyed?"

Zoro's hand flew up to touch her pony tail. "It's dyed." she muttered quickly. No way was she admitting to an almost complete stranger that her hair was naturally that horrid bright green. If she didn't pull it up it resembled a clump of moss.

"Anyway," Luffy said, getting Zoro's attention. "Be my friend."

"No thanks." was the quick reply.

"Why not?" Luffy whined, put out.

"Why should I?" Zoro retorted, slightly unnerved by the intensity of the other's gaze.

"'Cause I want you to be."

Zoro was struck by the absurdity of the situation. Didn't this girl have any other friends?

"Why would you want me to be your friend?" Zoro asked.

"Cause you're interesting." came Luffy's ambiguous reply.

Zoro decided to change tack, "Don't you have other friends you'd rather spend time with?" she asked, unwilling to believe that this girl could possibly want to be her friend for such an absurd reason.

"Nope."

The answer shocked Zoro, who was under the impression that Luffy was a very social person and constantly surrounded by others. She just gave off that kind of feeling. Not only that but the girl seemed familiar, but couldn't remember from where.

She gave the beach a cursory glance to make sure they were alone, then said;

"Fight me."

"What?" Luffy was startled by the proposition. She was ill, and Zoro was injured. Though that would be faire since they were both handicapped, Zoro had no idea about her condition.

"Fight me." Zoro repeated, and then continued. "If you win, I'll be your friend, if you lose, you'll never see me again."

Luffy thought about the proposition. Neither of them would be restricted in their movements, she was wearing her normal red shirt and baggy jeans, her would be sparing partner wearing a thick white jumper and dark green trousers. The fight would be fair, Zoro being restricted in her vision, and Luffy herself slower because of her illness.

"Okay." She agreed, getting up and bracing herself for a tough fight. Zoro also got out the swords she carried around with her.

"Ready," Zoro said.

"Set," Luffy continued.

"Go!" they both cried together, Zoro rushing forward, swinging her sword to try and knock Luffy out. Luffy jumped out of the way in time, then raced forward, arm raised to punch her adversary. It was blocked by one of Zoro's wooden swords. They stayed like that a moment, Luffy trying to break the sword, Zoro unable to move without taking a punch to the face.

The fight continues for several minutes, Zoro's narrowed vision because of the eye patch a hindrance, preventing her from seeing several of Luffy's attacks. At the same time, Luffy was having trouble keeping up with Zoro's speed, her reflexes dulled from lack of practice and her illness making her slower. She was also tiring fast, breathing heavily when Zoro was barely winded. She knew she would lose if the fight dragged on too long. With that in mind, she aimed a punch to Zoro's head which was blocked, then swept a kick to trip her. Still it didn't work, so Luffy attempted a kick to the chest, which was, again blocked. Zoro then attempted a slash, by a stroke of luck, Luffy managed to catch Zoro's wrist then twist her arm around her back, pinning her to the ground.

"You win." Zoro grudgingly admitted. "I'll uphold my side of the bargain; I'll be your friend. Now get off me." Luffy slowly rose and staggered off the other girl, collapsing beside her. Zoro got up, staring at the other, completely winded and sweating profusely. "Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.

"Sure." Luffy replied, "I just haven't fought anyone in a while, so I'm really out of shape."

"If you say so." Zoro said doubtfully. Luffy had yet to get up, and her skin held a worrying grey tint.

Luffy was not alright. She felt too weak to move, and when she attempted to, the surroundings spun alarmingly. She had no idea that a fight would tire her out so much. She knew she should probably go see Traffy, but to do so would alert her new friend to her condition, which was the last thing she wanted. Her illness was what drove her other friends away, she hadn't seen any of them since her diagnosis.

"I'm gonna need patching up." Zoro said "Come with me, it's your fault, after all."

"Sure." Luffy was still breathless, and knew the walk to Traffy's clinic would only tire her out further. Still, she wasn't about to let Zoro now how weak she really felt, not when her new friend was already looking at her with such concern. "Let's go."

Getting up slowly, she led the way to the hospital, too breathless to talk like she normally would. She was even too tired to give Traffy her usual greeting when she walked into his office. He raised his eyebrows at the sight of Luffy and Zoro's appearancees, one with several developing bruises, the other even paler than usual and struggling to breathe.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice hard as ice.

"We had a fight." Zoro replied.

"I won." Luffy added, though she dissolved into a coughing fit after she said it.

"I see. Luffy, there is a bed in the clinic through the door. Go lie down and do not get up until you regain your breath. Zoro, sit down over there."

Luffy stumbled through the door and collapsed on the bed, passing out as soon as she lay down. Zoro, sat down on the chair Dr. Trafalgar indicated with trepidation.

"Do not fight with Luffy again." the doctor said, as he removed the bandage on her eye.

"Why?" Zoro asked. She had enjoyed the fight; it had been a long time since she had fought someone that could keep up with her.

"She will soon be unable to fight at all." Trafalgar replied cryptically.

Zoro pondered his words as he rebandaged her eye, then applied some antiseptic to the few cuts she had. A suspicion formed in her mind, but she would not ask Dr. Trafalgar if she was right. Nor would she ask Luffy. It was not her place, and if Luffy wanted to tell her what was wrong she would. In her own time.

"Tell Luffy I'll see her tomorrow at the beach." Zoro said to the doctor as she left.

Trafalgar said nothing, merely nodded. Satisfied, Zoro left, still thinking about the mystery that was Luffy.

Once she was gone, Trafalgar went to check on his patient. Satisfied to find her resting, he then phoned Luffy's house to inform her brother that Luffy was with him at the clinic. He got the answer machine. Leaving a quick message, he said that Luffy would be staying overnight and would need picking up in the morning. Trafalgar did not say the reason that she was in the hospital, leaving it to Luffy to explain herself when he came to see her. He then went back to work not worrying about the girl sleeping in the room next door.

* * *

When Luffy woke up, the first thing she noticed was that it was dark. She had apparently slept through the rest of the day. It was too late to go home. The second thing she noticed was that she was very hungry as well as thirsty. Getting up, she was glad to find that the room didn't spin sickeningly, then walked through the door into Dr. Trafalgars' office.

"I'm hungry." she wined, causing the doctor to look up from his work.

"There's food over there, and you can get water from the tap in the bathroom."

"Thanks."

Whilst Luffy quenched her thirst and ate, Trafalgar observed her, satisfied to see that she seemed almost completely recovered from her fight the day before.

"What time is it?" Luffy asked when she had finished eating.

"Around 2."

Luffy nodded, sitting in one of the empty chairs in Trafalgars' office.

"You shouldn't try fighting again." the doctor said, looking at Luffy.

"I know, but I still want to." Luffy said, sad at how limited her life had become.

"This will keep happening, and it will only get worse." Trafalgar told her, a slightly scolding tone entering his voice.

"Don't worry; I don't plan on fighting again. My reputation ensures that no one wants to challenge me anymore." Luffy said sadly. It was true, she had beaten all the gangs single handed by the time she was fifteen, as a result no one wanted to challenge her and she was considered the unofficial boss of all the delinquents.

"Good, you're already chipping away at your life-span by not resting properly. Also, your green-haired friend asked me to let you know she'll be waiting at the beach for you later today." Trafalgar remarked offhandedly.

Luffy grinned widely, happy at the thought that she would meet her only friend.

"And you'll need to tell your brother why you spent the night at the hospital when he comes to pick you up at 8 o'clock." he continued, causing Luffy's face to immediately fall. That would be one hell of a conversation. Ace will be worried and overbearing. He might even insist on staying home to look after her. She shuddered at the thought.

Luffy had every right to be concerned; Ace was worried out of his mind when he came to collect her. He didn't say anything in the hospital though. That worried Luffy; it meant that he was seriously considering watching her closely for some time. She would need to lie convincingly to get him to leave her in peace. She couldn't lie to save her life though, she knew that. Even if her ability to deceive people had gotten a little better, she wouldn't be able fool her brother completely.

"I have to go to work."

"What?!" Luffy was astounded. She thought that she would have to fight tooth and nail to get him out of the house. Now he was saying that he had to leave?

"Please, please try not to worry me like that again. I know you hate it when I insist you stay home, and I can't force you to. But please take better care of yourself."

Luffy grimaced, he'd known all along. Still, it meant that she could see Zoro today, so she was grateful that he wasn't trying to restrict her to a life in bed.

"I will." she promised. "Try not to worry too much or you'll be the one in bed."

Ace gave a weak laugh, though it didn't reach his eyes. "No promises there." he said.

They both ate breakfast together, then Ace left for work with a last warning to be careful. Once he was gone, Luffy put on a coat, hat and gloves and went down to the beach to wait for her friend. She didn't have to wait long. As Zoro came striding down the beach, Luffy grinned widely and waved at her. She was wearing the same clothes as she had the day before; thick white jumper and dark green trousers with black boots. She also wore a grey coat over her clothes. Zoro sat down beside her new friend and stared at the stormy sea.

"Better today?" she asked.

"Yeah." Luffy replied.

"So, where d'you learn those moves? They were pretty good." Zoro asked, genuinely intrigued how this girl managed to defeat her.

"Grandpa taught me some, then I used to fight my brother a lot."

"Oh."

"Where did you learn to use those swords? It was awesome." Luffy asked, admiring of how strong the other girl was.

"Dojo." Zoro's reply was short but Luffy didn't seem to mind.

Somehow, neither understood exactly how it had happened, but the two became friends through that short conversation, acknowledging of each other's skill and admiring of their strength. There was a sense of fate in the meeting, as though each had already known the other and they were just meeting again after a long time apart. Still it was only the beginning.


	3. Chapter 3: Thief

Authors Note: As I'm sure you've noticed, my updating is far from regular so don't expect it. The next chapter should be out sometime next week but I make no guarantees. I apologise if I miss any names I have to change but I proofread all my work myself so I may miss some.

* * *

Chapter 3: Thief

Luffy was dreaming again, the same dream she had been having for a while now. She was back on the ship, sitting on the figurehead, staring at the sea around her. She sat there, waiting for the familiar call.

"Captain, what are you doing?"

That was different; usually it was a call for something, not a question. Luffy turned, answer ready, but froze. The figure calling was no longer indistinct, it was perfectly clear. Not only that, but Luffy knew the person. It was Zoro, her friend. Luffy wondered what she was doing here, then realised that perhaps she always had been and Luffy just hadn't recognised her because they only just met. Therefore, beforehand, Luffy didn't know what Zoro looked like so she had appeared as only a gray blurry outline.

Once Luffy came to that realisation she took a closer look at the other figures standing behind Zoro, they were as indistinct as ever. But maybe that was because she just hadn't met them yet. When she did, they would become clear. There were eight figures; so far only one was recognisable, so she had seven people left to meet. Luffy suddenly grinned widely, feeling that she would meet the others soon.

"Captain, are you okay?" one of the grey blurry outlines asked. Luffy realised that she had yet to answer Zoro's question. She looked up at them all, giving a smile. "I'm fine." she said. And she meant it.

* * *

Luffy woke slowly, a feeling of loss at no longer being in the dream. Still, she had Zoro now. It had been nearly three months since they'd met and she was having so much fun. Zoro was such a good friend. They always met at the beach, rain or shine; Zoro often had to cancel at short notice, but was still there most days. She was much busier than Luffy and couldn't always make it. Luffy didn't mind too much, being alone some of the time was much better than being alone all of the time.

The weather was absolutely biting and Luffy's illness was steadily progressing. As a result, the cold was very painful for her. She had to wear two jumpers and coats, ear muffs, hat, gloves, a thick scarf and a pair of fur lined boots. Even then she often found herself cold. She hadn't started taking her pain medication either. Traffy had said not to until she really couldn't cope without it. She could deal with the discomfort for a while longer.

When she got to the beach she found that today happened to be one of the days that Zoro couldn't make it. Settling herself in a rock crevice that offered some shelter from the freezing wind, Luffy settled down to watch the sea. With the wind and the cold, the sea was stormy and iron grey. It was fascinating in its wildness, awe inspiring in its intensity. Whilst watching the sea, Luffy also observed the rest of the beach, as expected, it was practically deserted. The weather discouraged all but the most avid of dog walkers. Still, there were a few people out battling the elements. One in particular caught Luffy's eye. It was a girl, around Luffy's age, with waist-length orange hair and brown eyes. Unlike the other people on the beach, she didn't seem to be in any hurry to get out of the cold. In fact, the opposite seemed to hold true. She seemed to be trying to hide.

Luffy watched curiously as the strange orange-haired girl squeezed herself into a crevice in the rock that at first glance seemed too small to possibly fit anyone but a very small child. Still, the girl managed it, and not a moment too soon apparently, as a group of men came running down the beach not thirty seconds later. They bypassed the strange girl's hiding place, glancing about out the corners of their eyes. They were trying to appear casual, but Luffy could still tell they were searching for something. As they came close enough for Luffy to eavesdrop, out of site behind her outcropping of rock they started talking.

"Where is she?" one was demanding of them, obviously the one in charge.

"We don't know, we're sure she came this way." another cried, seemingly fearful.

"Well, find her! That thief will pay for stealing from us." the leader commanded. There was a pause, then Luffy heard several sets of footsteps rush away, presumably to continue the search. Still, Luffy stayed where she was, unsure if all of the men had left yet. Five minutes later, Luffy cautiously peered around the rock that was hiding her only to quickly draw back. One of the men was still there. He was ugly, with beady eyes and one of the biggest noses she'd ever seen. He was very tall, wearing a completely black suit. His hands were crossed, and he appeared to be waiting impatiently as he was tapping his foot on the ground. He also appeared to be quite cold as he was shivering slightly, cursing under his breathe about the wind and the drizzle that had started.

Luffy doubted that the underlings would find the strange orange-haired girl any time soon, the crevice she had hidden in was a narrow tunnel that widened into a small cave a few feet down. None of the men looking for her would fit in the tunnel and she would be quite protected from the elements. Not only that, if they did look into the crevice they wouldn't be able to see her because the tunnel curved, hiding the cave from view. They were in for a long, disappointing day. Their boss was unlikely to be pleased.

* * *

Sure enough, three hours later they finally gave up, assuming probably that she had managed to escape and was long gone. Luffy had not moved from the behind the outcropping and tried to make as little noise as possible. Luckily, they had not noticed her there but she was now freezing. She needed to warm up or she would make herself worse faster.

There was no possible way of getting into the cave without making any noise and Luffy didn't attempt it, knowing that the girl taking refuge would not react kindly to someone attempting to sneak up on her. Despite her near constant eating, Luffy was still very thin, and had become even thinner since her illness. Therefore she had no difficulty in getting into the cave. The girl was still there, watching the entrance with a very guarded expression that didn't lessen when Luffy appeared. If anything, she became even more cautious, watching the newcomer with wary suspicion.

"I thought you might want to know that all the goons in the black suits have gone to search somewhere else." Luffy began, keeping within the girl's sight but still moving closer to the lantern that had been placed in the centre of the cave, it was much warmer than being on the beach.

"How do I know you're not lying?" the orange-haired girl asked, voice portraying her disbelief.

"You don't." Luffy wasted no time in grasping the opportunity to talk, "But you have to go out sometime, and even if they did come back none that I saw would be able to fit through that passage even if they did find you."

The girl relaxed, seeing the logic of Luffy's words, and Luffy gave a small smile. There was a pause as Luffy attempted to get as warm as possible in the cave whilst her companion watched her curiously.

"What's your name?" Luffy finally asked, breaking the silence.

"What's it to you?" came the instant reply.

"I want to know, but you don't have to say."

There was a long pause, before the orange-haired girl said, "Nami."

"That's a nice name. Mine's Luffy." Luffy said, with her trademark wide grin.

Nami still watched Luffy out of the corner of her eye as she lent against the wall of the cave, facing the entrance. Luffy was still shivering but she didn't feel quite as cold as before.

"Why were you out there if it made you so cold?" Nami asked, curious.

"I was waiting for my friend. But they couldn't make it." Luffy replied, cheerful as ever despite the cold.

"Don't you think you should go somewhere warmer?"

"This is warmer." Luffy's answer threw Nami slightly, but still, she continued.

"I meant warmer, as in, like, a house. With heating." She tried.

"Don't want to be alone." was the reply. It was the truth, though it was also a partial lie, Luffy wasn't sure that she had the strength to get home without collapsing when she was so cold. She should really go and see Traffy but she wasn't sure she could make it even that far. She would need help to get anywhere and her only company was too wary of her to offer it.

There was nothing else she could do, she would either have to ask for help or brave the wind to try and get to the hospital. Luffy stood, making her way along the tunnel to see just how bad the weather was. When she got to the opening she discovered that it was pouring with rain and the wind had somehow gotten even stronger. There was no way she was getting anywhere without help but she needed to go somewhere warmer. There was no choice.

"Nami," Luffy began hesitantly, unsure of how her request would be received.

"What?" the reply was not encouraging, Nami's voice was hard and deeply suspicious. Still, Luffy braved on.

"I'm going to need a hand getting to the hospital." The words were spoken in a rush and a faint blush appeared on Luffy's cheeks as if she were embarrassed of such weakness.

"Why do you need help?" Nami's voice was softer now, and slightly baffled. "And why the hospital?"

"It's closer than my house, and I think I'm going to have to go soon anyway. As to why I need help…" Luffy trailed off unsure how to not sound like an idiot. "Well, come see." Luffy walked to the entrance of the tunnel, showing Nami the storm outside, there was a distant boom of thunder added to the wind and rain. "I spent too long out in the cold hiding from the goons. I don't know how far I'll get before I collapse." she admitted. "I don't want to take the risk that I can't make it on my own."

Nami looked out at the storm, then turned to Luffy with narrowed eyes. It was obvious that Luffy was telling the truth; her breath was laboured and she was very pale and sweating slightly, the bright flags of colour on her cheeks did not look healthy and she was shivering, despite their sheltered position and the layers of clothes Luffy had piled on. Her eyes though, were clear and unglazed with fever. It was obvious that the girl needed to get somewhere warm and dry soon before her condition became too much worse. Nami could also tell that the storm wasn't going to let up anytime soon and would probably continue until late at night.

"Okay." she said at length. "I'll make sure you get to the hospital in one piece. But don't expect me to stick around." the girl warned.

"That's fine." Luffy replied. "Thank you."

"Well, don't just stand there, let's go. That storm's not letting up anytime soon." As she said that Nami marched out into the elements. Luffy followed, hunching her shoulders in an effort to withstand Mother Nature, very glad that Nami was in front of her, shielding her from the worst of the wind. The rain however was glacial, and Luffy was quickly soaked to the skin, shivering with cold. She stumbled behind, gasping for breathe within minutes.

By the time the two reached the hospital Luffy had her arm slung around Nami's shoulders barely able to support her own weight. Nami was worried; Luffy was barely conscious and seemed very ill. She approached the desk to ask for a doctor but Luffy pulled up short.

"Go that way." she croaked out, pointing to a corridor on the left.

"But," Nami started, only to be interrupted by Luffy's weak voice.

"Traffy's office is that way, furthest corridor left. Room 207."

Hesitantly Nami followed Luffy's instructions, knocking on the door.

* * *

Dr. Trafalgar had been having a good day. He hadn't been disturbed by any of his patients and managed to get some of his research done. He found the storm outside very comforting though he did pity the fools that got themselves caught in it. He was going to stay the night in his office. Trafalgar was dozing in his chair when there was a knock at the door. Instantly his mood plummeted. As a rule, he didn't like his co-workers, or his patients. There were exceptions, but they were few and far between. Heaving a huge sigh, he got up and opened the door, scathing and sarcastic remark ready on his tongue.

"What…" He never got past the first word. Standing outside his door were two women, girls really, both soaked to the skin and shivering with cold. One with orange hair was supporting her black-haired companion who appeared to have passed out. He recognised his favourite patient. The girl was very interesting, and appeared to have no fear of him at all unlike everyone else. Her illness was also fascinating. The orange-haired one was obviously worried about the girl slumped over her shoulders and he stepped aside to let her in.

"What happened?" he asked, drawing some conclusions for himself as he watched the strange girl manoeuvre herself and her companion into the room.

"We were caught in the storm. What's it look like?" her retort was snappy and short-tempered, clearly not in the mood for explanations.

"Put her in here." Trafalgar said, opening the door to the small examination room. The girl staggered over and dumped Luffy unceremoniously onto the small bed. She then made her way back out of the room and sat in one of the chairs in the office. "What happened?" he repeated.

"Don't know." the orange-haired girl sighed, putting her head in her hands and slumping. "She felt cold and weak and asked me to help her here."

That did explain a few things. Clearly she was still going down to the beach. She had obviously stayed too long and lacked the strength to get home but did not explain how she did not notice the storm brewing. For all her childishness, Luffy was pretty sensible so there had to be a reason for her not to leave before she became too weak.

Trafalgar went back into the room where Luffy was passed out, noticing that she was shivering. He frowned, then turned up the heating in the room as high as it would go and returned to the office. He stared at the girl still sitting in the hard plastic chair. Her gaze was to the floor and she looked slightly guilty. That was interesting. It suggested that his patient's current condition had something to do with the girl.

"Your name?" the doctor asked, taking a seat behind the desk.

"Nami." was the subdued reply.

"So, Nami," he drawled, staring at her like a predator observes its prey, "tell me what you know about what happened."

Hesitantly Nami began, telling him about how she had hidden from a gang group after she had robbed them blind and Luffy had come to tell her that the coast was clear. Whilst there the storm had started and Luffy didn't think she could get home by herself. When she reached the end of her narrative, Dr Trafalgar sighed. "Sounds like something she'd do." he said, getting up and checking on her. Luffy was still pale, but had stopped shivering.

"Well, she'll live. Have to stay here for a while. But there won't be any lasting damage." he reassured the girl. "You'll have to stay the night as well. Make sure you didn't catch anything." he added. Nami didn't look too thrilled at the prospect, but stayed silent. Dr. Trafalgar sighed again, then went to phone Luffy's brother. He would need to know that his sister was not going to be home tonight.

* * *

Luffy was woken by a bright ray of sunshine falling onto her face. The storm had subsided leaving the world quiet and peaceful. She felt warm, the temperature in the room was much too high and she was beginning to sweat. Looking around Luffy recognised Traffy's personal sick room. As she scanned the room, she noticed the other bed was occupied by Nami. She was fast asleep, and looked very peaceful. Luffy's observations were interrupted by her stomach demanding breakfast. Getting up, she quietly left the room and saw Traffy working at his desk.

"Traffy, need food." she whined, causing him to look up from the computer.

"Look in the fridge. There should be something in there." he said, pointing in its direction and returning to his work.

Having divested the fridge of all that was edible Luffy returned to the office to find that Nami had woken up and was sitting in a chair she had dragged to the wall. She was scowling in Traffy's direction but looked up when she heard Luffy come in.

"Nami! You're awake!" Luffy exclaimed, trying to hug the girl.

"Yes, yes. Get off me!" Nami cried, bringing her fist down on Luffy's head hard.

"Be my friend." Luffy demanded, not missing a beat.

"What?" Nami was confused, how did that topic come up?

"Be my friend." Luffy said again, in a tone that questioned Nami's mental health.

"Sure, why not?" Nami said, after a long pause.

"Now that that's sorted," interrupted Dr. Trafalgar, "Luffy, you're going to stay here for the rest of the winter."

"Why?" the girl exclaimed, appalled at the idea of spending so much time in bed.

"It's your own fault." he went on unsympathetic. "If you didn't want to spend an extended stay here you shouldn't have been out in a storm."

"Fine." Luffy pouted. "But I have to tell Zoro that I won't be able to meet her. And I have to introduce Zoro and Nami." she went on, brightening at the thought.

"What?" interrupted Nami. "Who's Zoro?" she asked.

"My other friend." was the unhelpful answer.

"Make it quick." Dr. Trafalgar said. "And be back by midday or you'll stay even longer."

"Yay." Luffy cheered, grabbing Nami's arm and dragging her to meet Zoro.

* * *

At the beach, Zoro was waiting for Luffy to show. It wasn't often that she arrived before Luffy and she had already waited an hour. It was worrying and she was considering going looking for her friend when she spotted Luffy running towards her, dragging an orange-haired girl behind her.

"Hey Zoro! Sorry I'm late." Luffy exclaimed as soon as she stopped.

"No problem. It's not like we specified a time." Zoro replied, used to Luffy's childishness by now. "Who's that?" she asked, gesturing to the girl behind her.

"That's Nami. She's my friend as well. We met yesterday." That told her a great deal. Zoro stared at Nami, taking in the blue skinny jeans, the royal blue crop-top and the high-heels.

"She helped me when I was caught in the rain yesterday."

That statement sent a flash of worry through Zoro, it was clear to anyone that bothered to look that Luffy was ill and who knows how worse it could get if she spent time outside in the rain.

"Are you alright?" she asked, examining Luffy looking for anything that might be wrong.

"Fine. But Traffy wants me to stay at the hospital longer." Luffy pouted, put out with having to stay in bed.

"Last night you were not fine." Nami snapped, joining in on the conversation. "You practically collapsed on top of me; I had to drag you to the hospital."

Zoro's gaze snapped to the orange-haired girl, grateful that Luffy had had someone to look after her, but still suspicious. They stared at each other for a long moment, Zoro's gaze searching and Nami's slightly nervous.

"All right. I approve."

"What?" Nami asked, confused as to what had just happened.

"Luffy's kinda an idiot; she's likely to befriend anyone." Zoro explained.

"Anyway. Luffy's got to be back at the hospital soon, or Traffy won't allow her guests and will come get her himself." Nami distracted herself from the bizarre explanation.

They looked to where Luffy was picking up shells in the sand. Sharing a look, they each grabbed one of Luffy's arms and dragged her to her feet.

"Let's go." Zoro said.

"Where? Will there be meat?" Luffy asked with all the excitement of a 5-year-old.

"Back to the hospital." Nami answered, beginning to drag Luffy behind her.

"But that place is so boring." Luffy whined.

"I don't care. You're going." Zoro said, not looking back at her.

"You have to come visit every day." Luffy stated, serious for once.

"Sure." her two friends answered then proceeded to lead her back to the hospital.

Luffy smiled. Both her friends got along. She was looking forward to who she would meet next.


	4. Chapter 4: Writer

Author's Note: I am so sorry I am so late updating this. (Stupid mock exams and writer's block). Though thanks to said writer's block I am now halfway through writing chapter 5 now too. So hopefully the next update will be sooner. Hope you enjoy this new chapter.

* * *

Chapter 4: Writer

Three months in hospital and Luffy felt, better. She was finally declared well enough to leave the hospital with strict orders to take medication and not to stress herself. She zoned out almost as soon as the lecture began, ignoring most of the information Dr. Trafalgar was giving. Her dream was occurring nightly now, and another of the shadowy figures had become Nami. That left six other figures. Luffy hoped that she would be able to meet all of the figures before her time was up, but that was looking unlikely, given how little time Traffy now thought she had. But, well, stranger things had happened.

"Luffy, are you alright?" Another thing Luffy was unhappy about. Ace had blown the roof when he found out from Traffy she was hospitalised. He had acted like an overprotective mother hen for the entirety of her hospital stay. It was awful. And likely to continue. Never mind that it was the beginning of April and the weather was finally warming up. He was going to try and keep her house-bound for another week at least.

"I'm fine." she replied, hopefully for the last time before they got home. It was unlikely though. "They wouldn't have let me out if I wasn't well enough." Her attempt at logic seemed to mollify her brother slightly. She still hadn't told him about her two friends and wanted it kept that way. No way was Luffy giving Ace the chance to rob her of one of the few things that made her happy.

"When we get home, I'm going down to the beach." Luffy announced, causing Ace to give her a shocked look.

"No, you're not. You're going to rest." He stated, turning back to the road. This was what she had feared; Ace hovering over her, concerned, yet utterly unable to do a thing.

"I'm going out. I won't get any rest back at the house. You will hover like a worried wife and drive me more insane than I already am." she said. Not to mention that Zoro and Nami said they would be waiting down at the beach when she came out of the hospital. She was not staying at home, especially not when the weather was so nice.

Two hours later and a lot of whining and pouting, Luffy was at the beach with her two friends.

"Took you long enough." Nami said by way of greeting. Zoro just gave Luffy a long, searching look, then gave a small smile seeing that she looked better. Luffy chattered on happily about how glad she was to be out of 'that hellish place of utter boredom' whilst Zoro scanned the beach. There were quite a few people here and Zoro didn't like the look of some.

When Luffy had run out of things to say the three fell into a comfortable silence. Suddenly Nami spoke up: "I'm going to be gone for a few weeks on a job." Nami often had to perform 'jobs' for her uncle, Arlong. She never said what they entailed, just when she would be gone and how long they were likely to take. It was obvious that Nami didn't like the jobs but couldn't turn them down.

"Come back safe." Luffy said, worried. The last job Nami had done she came back covered with bruises and a cracked wrist. The girl had laughed it off but had still seen Trafalgar about it.

"I'll be gone as well." Zoro added. At this, Luffy looked down. Her two friends would be away at the same time, what rotten luck.

"I have a kendo tournament so I'll be leaving early tomorrow morning." Luffy nodded, downcast. Seeing this, Nami said "Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it." patting Luffy on the back to try and cheer her up. For some reason, Luffy didn't look right without a smile on her face. With much effort, Zoro and Nami managed to pull a small smile from Luffy.

Giving the beach a last cursory glance, Zoro stood.

"I have to go pack." she said in answer to Luffy's questioning look. "I'll be back in three days. It's not a long tournament."

Nami stood as well. "The sooner I leave, the sooner I'll be back." she said, giving Luffy a wave as she walked away, grabbing Zoro's hand. "You're going the wrong way." was all she said. Luffy giggled, Zoro's appalling sense of direction was very comical to both her and Nami, the latter often poked fun at the girl because of it.

After the two had left, Luffy lingered a while, watching the other people on the beach. It was early evening so there weren't many. Just before she was about to leave, one in particular caught her eye. It was a girl dressed in brown ink-splattered dungarees over an equally ink-splattered white shirt. Her curly black hair was tied in a simple pony tail and she had a comically long nose. She had a sketch-pad in hand and was drawing, completely oblivious to her surroundings. Turning, Luffy left the beach; her brother would be worried enough as it was without her being late. Still, she would see if that girl was there tomorrow as well.

* * *

Luffy was dreaming. She knew this because she was on a ship. The same one she dreamed about every night. Though it was night-time in the dream as well, that was new. She was also in the crow's nest instead of on deck.

"Captain." came the call. It wasn't Zoro's voice, nor was it Nami's. Even so, Luffy looked out of the window to the deck. What she saw almost made her fall out. It was the girl she had seen that evening, drawing while sitting on the rocks. She wanted to call back, but had no idea what the girl's name was. Still, when she thought about it, the word 'sniper' came to mind.

"Sniper." Luffy called back.

"Oh, there you are, Captain." the curly-haired girl said, "Navigator said for me to take over your shift." Instinctively, Luffy knew the new girl was talking about Nami, despite her name never being mentioned.

"Not tired." Luffy replied.

"Then how about I tell you about an adventure." Sniper said, climbing the mast to reach where Luffy was.

"Great!" Luffy cheered, forgetting that, in the middle of the night the rest of the people on the ship would be asleep.

"Shut up Captain!" a voice yelled from somewhere inside the ship, but no one came to investigate the source of the noise.

"Oops." Luffy said, a little sheepishly, then turned back to Sniper. "Tell me that story." she said, much more quietly this time.

Throughout that entire night, the girl she had only seen but never met told her stories about adventures and brave heroes, she told so many Luffy lost count. She was very sorry when she blinked and opened her eyes to find herself back in her bedroom, the last story that strange girl was in the middle of telling still in her head. It was about an adventure on an island that tried to eat the people that landed on it. The story had been funny and exciting and she wanted to hear the end.

"Luffy, breakfast." Ace called up the stairs from where the smell of scrambled eggs wafted. Forgetting about her dream, Luffy bolted out of bed and was downstairs sitting at the table in ten seconds, a new record for her. Ace laughed, but the sound was still slightly strained. He did his best, she knew, but she didn't want to be around him and force him to try and be cheerful, she didn't want to see him try so hard. Her brother placed a glass of water along with six different pills in front of her.

"Take them all." he said sternly, watching as she did as he said, pulling a face at how bitter the stuff tasted. After she'd swallowed the horrible medicine, and gulped down the rest of the water in an effort to get rid of the taste, Ace put a towering plate of scrambled eggs on toast in front of her, before putting an equally huge pile in front of himself. She wolfed down her breakfast, her appetite not suffering in the slightest despite her illness, then attempted to swipe some of her brother's. He was however, quite used to this, so Luffy ended up empty handed.

"I'm going to the beach." Luffy announced when breakfast was over, climbing the stairs back to her room to get dressed.

"Wear a coat." her brother replied, worry in his tone. He knew he couldn't stop her from going, much as he wanted to. But he could at least make sure she didn't make herself worse.

"I will." came the reply. Ten minutes later Luffy came back downstairs, dressed in her usual baggy jeans and bright red shirt, flip-flops in hand. She smiled brightly at him, then headed for the door. He quickly grabbed the scarf from the coat rack and draped it around her neck as she pulled on her shoes.

"Please be careful." he whispered.

"I always am." she replied, flashing a wicked grin.

"No you're not. You never think before you act."

"I have friends to look out for me." That startled Ace, but then he wasn't that surprised, his sister made friends so easily. Reluctantly, he let go of her, allowing her to walk out of the door, worry still clenching his gut.

At the beach, Luffy pulled her coat securely around her, it might be April, but it was still a little cold. She scanned the people on the beach, looking for Zoro and Nami, then remembering that they would be gone for work. Still, she hoped to see the strange curly-haired girl with the long nose again. Luffy glanced towards the outcropping of rock that she had seen the other girl on the previous day, a little disheartened that she wasn't there. Looking around at the other people on the beach, Luffy concluded that she wasn't on the beach at all. Still, perhaps she'd come by later. A little consoled by that thought, Luffy settled down to wait, her spot giving her a full view of the beach while still remaining mostly sheltered from the weather.

It was late afternoon before the girl appeared, and there weren't many people left on the beach. She sat in the same spot she had yesterday, but instead of a sketchpad, she had brought a notebook and lap-top. Luffy carefully chose a spot near to where she sat, but stayed quiet, waiting for her to notice Luffy's presence. Five minutes later, Luffy was bored. The girl, whoever she was, had either not noticed Luffy was only around five feet away, or was ignoring her. Being quiet, she crept up behind the girl to see what she was working on. Leaning over her shoulder, Luffy noticed that she was typing, writing a story. It looked interesting, but before she could read more than a few lines, there was a surprisingly strong shove sending Luffy toppling backwards, losing her balance. She landed heavily, caught by surprise and unable to regain her footing.

"Oww. What was that for?" Luffy complained, rubbing her bottom as she got up.

"Don't sneak up on people then." the long-nosed girl replied, face beat red.

"Oh, sorry." Luffy sat a little father away, watching the curly-haired girl return to her work. She kept glancing back at Luffy, obviously uncomfortable under the scrutiny.

"Why are you watching me?" she asked at length.

"Cause I want to know what you're doing." Luffy replied.

"Writing a story."

"Cool! What's it about? Read it to me!" Luffy was ecstatic, she loved stories.

"No."

"Why not?" Luffy asked, crestfallen.

"It's not finished yet." came the reply.

"Oh. Okay."

The girl turned back to her lap-top but made no move to continue writing. After a moment, she turned again and asked. "What's your name?"

"Luffy. Yours?"

"Usopp."

Ursula turned back and continued to work on her story with Luffy watching. After about ten minutes, Usopp began to pack up, shutting off her lap-top and picking up her note-book.

"You're leaving already?" Luffy asked, disappointed.

"Yes, I have a monster dinosaur as a pet back home that I have to feed."

"Wow, really! That is so cool! Show me!" Luffy screamed, ecstatic at the image.

"I don't really, you know. It was obviously a lie." Usopp said, slightly bewildered by Luffy's apparent gullible nature and reaction.

"No fair." Luffy muttered, disappointed.

"Will you be back tomorrow?" Luffy continued hopefully, bouncing back from her depressed episode.

"Perhaps. The view is beautiful."

"Please come back." Luffy pleaded, both her friends were gone and she wanted someone to spend time with. Not only that, Usopp was interesting.

"Sure." Usopp was rather taken aback by the pleading in Luffy's voice, agreeing automatically.

"Yeah!" Luffy exclaimed, scrambling back down from the outcropping of rock, running back down the beach. "See you tomorrow!" she cried over her shoulder, waving at Usopp who was frozen in surprise.

* * *

The next day found Luffy again at the beach, despite the fine drizzle that had started sometime during the night. Scanning the stretch of sand and rocky outcroppings for Usopp, she was disappointed at first not to see the other girl. Still, she resolved to wait and see if the writer would show up. Luffy was not disappointed, around lunchtime when the sun made an appearance Usopp appeared on the same sheltered outcropping of rock as she had the previous times Luffy had seen her at that beach, only unlike before, she had brought nothing with her.

Coming closer, Luffy noticed the dark shadows under Usopp's eyes as well as her slightly unkempt appearance. Her curly hair, though still tied back was sloppy, with tendrils coming out of the tie. Her clothes were slightly rumpled in addition to the ink stains and her eyes drooped.

"Hey, Usopp!" Luffy shouted as soon as she was in hearing range, causing the girl to start and look up from where she was gazing aimlessly at the skyline.

"Luffy." Usopp greeted, followed by a yawn.

"You okay?" Luffy asked in concern, eyeing her new friend worriedly.

"Fine." Usopp replied. "I just stayed up most of the night to finish my story." Luffy nodded; satisfied that nothing was seriously wrong with her soon to be friend.

"Will you tell me a story?" Luffy asked, excited as a puppy at the thought.

"Maybe later." Usopp replied. "I have some sleep to catch up on."

"Come on, just a short one." Luffy whined, not wanting to be bored while Usopp slept.

"I can't tell stories when I'm tired." Usopp exclaimed, her exhaustion lowering her patience.

"Fine." Luffy pouted, put out that she was not going to get her story. "Say you'll be my friend though." the girl demanded, causing Usopp to turn and stare.

"Where did that question come from?" she asked, stunned.

"You're funny and nice and I like you, so be my friend." Luffy demanded; gaze intense and staring at Usopp without blinking.

Usopp backed up slightly, intimidated. Luffy was acting very differently to the happy-go-lucky attitude she'd had just a moment ago.

"Sure." Usopp agreed nervously. It was true; Usopp did want to be friends with this strange girl, despite her scary side. She relaxed some when Luffy gave a beaming smile, though did wonder how she managed to smile so widely and not have her face split in two.

"So you'll tell me a story?" Luffy asked, ecstatic, causing her new friend to sigh and shake her head.

"All right." She agreed, secretly pleased that someone showed such an interest in her stories. "I'll read you the story I finished writing."

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered, happy to be getting her story. Judging from how good the dream version of her new friend was at telling stories Luffy's hopes were set high.

"The adventures of the Brave Warrior of the Sea: Sniper King" Usopp began as Luffy settled in for a good story, wondering if the other figures in her dream would prove to be as similar in reality those on that ship.


End file.
